Davey said:"The renewable energy sector supports 35,000 green jobs and the sector is crucial to green growth and energy security."A mix of technologies is vital to secure Britain's energy supplies and reduce the environmental impact of powering our homes and businesses."The private sector has announced investment of £31 billion in renewable electricity generation over the last three years, and the UK remains one of the most attractive electricity investment markets anywhere in the world."

The UK is currently the world leader in offshore wind generator, with more capacity than any other country.

Also announced was the £2.5m Government investment into four offshore wind projects under the Offshore Wind Drivetrain Innovation technologies.

Ricardo UK Ltd - awarded £634,980 to develop and demonstrate its Offshore Wind Drivetrain Innovation technologies which are expected to increase the reliability and lifetime of drivetrains for large offshore wind systems.

Blade Dynamics Ltd - awarded £842,630 to design, evaluate, build and test an innovative composite wind turbine hub. This will reduce the loads on the entire turbine, tower and foundation.

SSE Renewables UK Ltd - awarded a grant of £1 million for their National Offshore Wind Turbine Test Facility project. Among other things this will test foundations, logistics, and grid integration on Siemens 6MW pre-production turbine.

Davey continued:

"Investment in innovation now will improve the affordability of the technologies we deploy in the future; reduce bills for households and businesses; and strengthen energy security by offering a range of technology options for the UK to deploy."Successful innovation could save the UK up to £160 billion in energy supply costs to 2050 and contribute up to £89 billion to the UK economy over the same period."

These announcements came today alongside DECC publishing an update to the UK renewable energy roapmap, detailing that last year had been one of the most successful for Britain's renewable energy drive.